Databases have become the subject of significant recent interest, not only because of the increasing volume of data being stored and retrieved by computerized databases, but also by virtue of the data relationships which can be established during the storage and retrieval processes. Most of the interest in databases has concerned user demands for an improved ergonomic interface.
One aspect of improved ergonomics is the ability to recover a database in an efficient manner when a computer failure occurs. In the past, entire backups of a database were often used to restore a database from a particular point in time. However, as more and more information was stored in a database, and the information changed more often, archival of the entire database became less desirable and incremental changes were used to recover a database. An example of this approach to database recovery is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,086 and IBM TDB no. 4a, Sept. 1991, pp. 24-26, entitled, BACKWARD RESTORE FROM INCREMENTAL BACKUP. The article and patent describe an incremental backup methodology and how a database can be restored from incremental backup tapes.